OUTLAW NOTES: Kennedale Debut On Tap In Texas

KENNEDALE, Texas – The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series is trucking to Texas.

Five nights of Florida racing opened this year’s campaign, and now the tour is bound for the Lone Star State, where a new track awaits. The Greatest Show on Dirt invades Kennedale Speedway Park for the first time in series history this weekend, March 8-9.

The quarter-mile track, located just south of Fort Worth, joins the state’s rich history of sprint car racing as the 12th Texas track to welcome the World of Outlaws. The state has hosted 206 World of Outlaws races (fifth most all-time), including the first in 1978 at now-defunct Devil’s Bowl Speedway.

The two nights will ignite the Lonestar Sooner Stampede for the World of Outlaws – a three week stretch of racing in Texas and Oklahoma that also includes stops at Cotton Bowl Speedway on March 15-16, Big O Speedway on March 22, and Lawton Speedway on March 23.

A new track means empty notebook pages, no data to pull from, and no on-paper favorites to win. It’s the opportunity to watch the nation’s best sprint car drivers battle to forever cement their name as the first World of Outlaws winner at Kennedale.

Among the weekend’s storylines are a bevy of talking points.

– One of the most interesting aspects of venturing to a new facility is the lack of statistics. There’s no driver to highlight as a clear-cut favorite due to an impressive résumé. Many of the group of full-time World of Outlaws drivers will be laying eyes on Kennedale for the first time.

Even looking at the latest drivers to win at a new track doesn’t lend any insight as to who a favorite might be. There hasn’t been a repeat winner at the last five tracks where the World of Outlaws have debuted.

The most recent driver to claim the debut at a new track is Carson Macedo. The Lemoore, Calif., native won the inaugural visit to Minnesota’s Ogilvie Raceway last June.

The four prior to Macedo were Brad Sweet at Vado Speedway Park, Donny Schatz at Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway, David Gravel at Dirt on the Rev, and Sheldon Haudenschild at Magnolia Motor Speedway.

– None of the current World of Outlaws drivers may have had the chance to conquer Kennedale yet, but a handful of them have experienced success when visiting Texas.

Donny Schatz has topped seven races in the state. The 10-time series champion made a trio of victory lane visits at Devil’s Bowl in Mesquite, Texas; twice came out on top at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas; and won once apiece at Battleground Speedway in Highlands and Lone Star Speedway in Kilgore.

Schatz’s seven Texas wins are tied for the sixth most.

Series veterans David Gravel and Logan Schuchart both own three Texas victories. Gravel’s first two came at Gator Motorplex in Willis and Cotton Bowl Speedway in Paige. Most recently, the Big Game Motorsports pilot claimed the final race in Devil’s Bowl Speedway history last October.

Speaking of Devil’s Bowl, that’s where all three of Schuchart’s victories occurred. The Hanover, PA native took the Shark Racing No. 1S on three consecutive trips to victory lane from 2019 to 2021.

Two-time Texas winners include Sheldon Haudenschild and Carson Macedo. Haudenschild’s both came at Cotton Bowl Speedway in 2021 and 2022. Macedo has won in Texas once in each of the last two seasons, topping a Cotton Bowl feature in 2022 and the penultimate Devil’s Bowl race last year.

– Parity has been the name of the game so far this year for the World of Outlaws. The first five races have failed to produce a repeat winner, with Sweet, Gravel, Tyler Courtney, Haudenschild, and Schatz claiming checkered flags.

It’s only the 10th time in 47 seasons of racing that the first five features didn’t see anyone pick up multiple wins. If another different name parks in victory lane on Friday at Kennedale, it will mark just the sixth time the season has started with six different winners.

Looking a little further ahead, the record for different winners to start the season is eight in 2015. New winners would be needed both nights and Kennedale and both nights at Cotton bowl next weekend to establish a new mark.

– Texas may not be a sprint car hotbed in the realm of Pennsylvania or California, but the Lone Star State has produced its fair share of talent. A handful of notable names come from Texas and will be looking to top the World of Outlaws at Kennedale.

Sam Hafertepe Jr. headlines the local contingent entering the weekend. The Sunnyvale, Texas, native is fresh off topping last weekend’s American Sprint Car Series Elite Outlaw race at Kennedale. That win came against a tough field, and this weekend he aims for his first World of Outlaws triumph since 2011.

Another top Texan heading to Kennedale is Chase Randall with TKS Motorsports. He may make most of his laps in the Knoxville region these days, but Randall comes from Waco and has Kennedale success in his past. Back in 2021, Randall won a 410 race at Kennedale when he was just 16 years old.

Aaron Reutzel also plans to make his way to Kennedale aboard the Ridge & Sons Racing No. 87. The Clute, Texas, driver has raced at Kennedale with ASCS in the past but has yet to pick up a win at the track.

– Along with the stars of the World of Outlaws and the healthy crop of locals, drivers from many states plan to partake in the series debut at Kennedale.

Oklahoma is sending plenty of talent capable of winning in Texas for the Sooner State. Oklahoma City’s Ryan Timms has yet to miss a World of Outlaws race this and will continue that trend. Broken Arrow’s Brady Bacon plans to make his first series start of the season in the TKH Motorsports No. 21H, while Sapulpa’s Blake Hahn also intends to join the cast of Sooners battling the Outlaws.

Pennsylvania will have some representation in the form of Brent Marks and Jacob Allen. Both are proven winners at the highest level of the sport and could be threats to take the Kennedale event.

Outside of the trio of Californians full-time on the tour, the Golden State will be represented by Fresno’s Dominic Scelzi. He’s brought the Scelzi Motorsports No. 41 out for a five-week stretch with the World of Outlaws, beginning at Kennedale. Last weekend, he finished third at Kennedale’s ASCS Elite Outlaw race.

– Gravel enters the Kennedale two-step with a 12-point lead in the World of Outlaws standings over a tie for second between Schatz and sophomore Outlaw regular Gio Scelzi.

For those unable to attend at the racetrack, every lap of the World of Outlaws sprint car season can be seen live on DIRTvision.